The collapse of the I-355W bridge in Minneapolis in 2007 and the more recent problems of the San Francisco Bridge are unnerving to say the least.  Join Chris Higgins, a structural engineer at Oregon State University's Kiewit Center for Infrastructure and Transportation, at the upcoming Science Pub on Tuesday, May 18 in Father Luke's Room at McMenamins in Bend, for an analysis of these failures and a look at the contributions of engineering research to state of the art bridge construction practices.

Science Pub-goers will learn how Higgins has destroyed more bridges than any flood or earthquake. He'll explain how he and his team cast concrete bridge parts in the cavernous Structural Engineering Research Laboratory in Corvallis and expose them to stresses that cause real-world bridges to fail.  Some of Higgins' tools of the trade include a 35-ton yellow crane, rebar benders, hydraulic rams, 40,000-pound concrete beams and a gigantic environmental chamber, all residing on a concrete and steel-reinforced strong-floor that measures five feet thick inside one of the few laboratories in the country built for such research.

Higgins is the Slayden Construction Faculty Fellow in OSU’s School of Civil and Construction Engineering.  Since Higgins arrived at OSU in 2000, he has been awarded the Lloyd Carter Award for Outstanding and Inspirational Teaching and the American Society of Civil Engineers student chapter's Teacher of the Year Award — twice.

This Science Pub takes place from 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.  Doors open at 5:30 p.m. for networking and food and beverage service, and the presentation begins at 6:00 p.m.  Science Pubs are sponsored by OSU-Cascades and the OSU Alumni Association and are free and open to community members and OSU alumni.

Participants are invited to RSVP on www.osualum.com.  For information call 541-737-2351 or 877-678-2837 (toll free) or e-mail osualum@oregonstate.edu.

To view the remaining series, click here.